Hi Team –

 

Well, yesterday’s Total Solar Eclipse in Ohio did not disappoint, bringing a once-in-a-lifetime, awe-inspiring experience to all those who witnessed it throughout our region and across the country! And as we turn our attention back down to Earth, we also have many things to get excited about this Spring, including right here at TriHealth!

 

And speaking of things to get excited about, when I am out rounding across our system and even out in the community, there are few things better than seeing our team members wearing their TriHealth t-shirts and other TriHealth apparel with pride! So, as we approach Healthcare Appreciation Week in May, I am excited about the prospect of a new TriHealth t-shirt added to our already impressive collection of creative designs, thanks to the talents of our own team members!

 

After receiving a record number of team member submissions for the design of our 2024 t-shirt, it’s now time for our team members to vote on your favorite Healthcare Appreciation Week t-shirt design – and place your order for your own super-soft shirt, compliments of TriHealth!  A panel of team members narrowed the 150+ submissions to the three finalists shown below, and voting begins today and will continue through April 19.

 

 

 

The design that receives the most votes will become the 2024 Healthcare Appreciation Week t-shirt and it will be “unveiled” at the Healthcare Appreciation Week Town Hall on Wednesday, May 15. Click here to cast your vote for your favorite design and then place your t-shirt order. And although voting closes on April 19, team members can continue to order their FREE t-shirt throughout Healthcare Appreciation Week, which takes place May 13 – 19. We are looking forward to this special week of celebration to, once again, honor and recognize ALL of our TriHealth team members for ALL of your unique contributions that are TOGETHER helping us to Get Healthcare Right – from providing direct patient care to supporting caregivers to adding value behind the scenes, and everything in between!

 

It is estimated that as many as 80% of all patient harm events in healthcare today are directly or indirectly related to breakdowns in communication. And while this is a troubling statistic, we know that failures in communication are preventable, if we adopt and consistently utilize reliable communication practices!! And proof of this is the considerable progress we have already made since beginning our Safety Journey and introducing our safety and reliability practices seven years ago:

These impressive results demonstrate that when we embrace and consistently apply our TriHealth Way safety and high reliability practices, we deliver better clinical outcomes and foster an improved workplace and care environment. In large part due to the pandemic, industry-wide workforce disruption, and the need to onboard many new leaders and team members, we know that today we are not as reliable or consistent in the use of our TriHealth Way best practices as our patients and team members deserve and expect. So we devoted our Spring LDI/Safety Summit and our post-LDI leader meetings to the important work of strengthening our communication practices – from huddles to team meetings to one-on-one conversations – and also to achieving greater reliability in the use of our TriHealth Way best practices.

 

In the days and weeks ahead, your leader will be talking with you about improvements in our huddles and other safety practices and our renewed focus on reliability; and how they will be working with you and your teams to provide even safer care for our patients – and a better workplace experience for you.

 

In response to the growing – and often undertreated and underfunded – mental health crisis locally and across the country, TriHealth is, once again, helping to lead the way in addressing this national crisis head-on, and from many angles, as part of our work to Get Healthcare Right. We know that untreated mental illness too often results in isolation and loneliness, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, suicide, and other serious medical conditions.   And yet much of this is preventable with the right diagnosis and treatments.

 

Recognizing the critical need to reimagine behavioral health services and expand access to care, TriHealth has created a best-in-class ambulatory care plan, called Integrated Behavioral Health, that embeds behavioral healthcare providers into primary care and many specialty practices to ensure patients in need have timely and seamless access – without stigma or embarrassment – to high-quality behavioral health services when and where they need them.

 

Thanks to the generous support of our partner and sponsor, bi3 (Bethesda Inc.), we are expanding the Integrated Behavioral Health model to all of our Adult PCP locations, as well as other ambulatory patient populations across Pediatrics, Women’s Health, Oncology, and more. To date, we have integrated behavioral health professionals into more than 25 practices, with 12 additional practices slated for adoption of behavioral health services over the next 12 months. And so, today, thousands of patients are now receiving the care and support they need to get on the path to improved health and a better quality of life.

 

As thought leaders in value-based behavioral healthcare, Dr. Dallas Auvil, TriHealth System Chief of Behavioral Health, and Jill Miller, President & CEO of Bethesda Inc. and bi3, recently spoke with the Cincinnati Business Courier as part of our Getting Health Care Right podcast series. They discussed Greater Cincinnati’s fragile mental health system and how TriHealth is working to expand access through our practices and through newly created specialty referral programs. Click the graphic below to tune in to the podcast discussion.

 

 

 

On March 26 – 28, TriHealth hosted three surveyors from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) program for our triennial on-site survey. This was the fifth ACGME site survey since 2012. While surveyors identified areas for improvement, overall, they shared how impressed they were with our Graduate Medical Education (GME) teaching programs and the progress made since their last site visit in 2021. Congratulations to GME leadership and faculty for their hard work and dedication that, once again, led to another successful ACGME site survey!

 

I’m also thrilled to share that the results of Resident Match 2024 are in – and TriHealth is a big winner, thanks to our collective efforts to develop the best and most preferred work and practice environment in the region! All programs filled with top-ranked candidates and TriHealth will proudly welcome 35 new residents on June 17 and five new fellows on August 1! Our new residents and fellows will join our nationally recognized residencies in Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Family Medicine, Vascular Surgery, General Surgery, and Podiatry, along with fellowships in Sports Medicine, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery, and Hand Surgery. 

 

Please make plans to join us next Tuesday, April 16 at noon on Bridge for our next Team Member Town Hall livestream. We will share important updates on our work to Get Healthcare Right, celebrate wins, discuss challenges facing TriHealth and our industry, and answer your questions – with some fun TriHealth prizes for those who join the conversation! To do so, be sure to email your questions to TownHall@trihealth.com.

 

As we begin the final quarter of FY2024, I want to thank you – ONE Team, TriHealth STRONG – for what is shaping up to be another year of progress and improving performance for those we serve and those who serve throughout TriHealth! While TriHealth is not immune to the ongoing challenges facing the U.S. healthcare industry, what continues to set us apart and enables us to overcome these challenges is our people – the GREATEST healthcare team anywhere! Thank you for always choosing to be your best! Because of you, our care is safer and more accessible, our patients are healthier, and our community is increasingly choosing TriHealth as their preferred provider for exceptional care that delivers the best health outcomes possible.